Senior Year
by negitoro-nigiri
Summary: Bubbline high school au with a bit of supernatural stuff and events based off the show. M rating for potential future chapters. I've never posted any work here so I don't know what to expect, but hopefully at least someone enjoys it to some extent.
1. Chapter 1

There was a long silence in the Abadeer house, only to be broken by a loud audible exhale. Its source was none other than Marceline, who lie on her bed exhausted from moving boxes and unpacking her things. Tomorrow, she was to start going to the neighborhood school around her dad's house and just like the night before every other new school year, she couldn't sleep. Maybe it was anxiety or some kind of psychological problem, but she was always scared to have her fears confirmed and decided to embrace the ignorance instead. That was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to problems plaguing the young woman, but the main problem now was that she was at her father's house in the first place. Ever since she stared middle school, her father let her live on her own and payed for her rent, phone, food, you name it. The problem was, she had the habit of transferring schools when things got uncomfortable. Whether that was fighting some jerk who totally had it coming or standing up for other people who couldn't do it themselves, others didn't seem to approve of her way of dealing with things. That, combined with the fact that she didn't really do friends after the first time she transferred, resulted in stares, whispers, and crazy paranoia. She had figured how she got her diploma didn't matter as long as she got one, but her father didn't seem to agree with her thoughts. When everything got out, it went something like "Marceline, you are my daughter and a member of the Abadeer family and will represent yourself as such." blah blah blah… An hour of lecturing and angry looks didn't have an effect on her, especially from someone she barely even sees. She was exhausted of being exhausted and somehow, managed to fall asleep.

* * *

"Ugh, what time is it?" Marceline rubbed her eyes and stretched out as far as her body would let her before she grabbed the sheets and pulled them around her tightly. With a long sigh, she turned on her side and propped her head up with her arm as she reached for her phone. 4:53am. Although she didn't post practically at all, she still liked to kill time scrolling thru social media even if she only followed old childhood friends. Except for today. All she saw was posts about school and class schedules, it just reminded her that today was going to be shit. Not only was she going to be the new kid again, but it was in a neighborhood that she has attended school before and was bound to see some familiar faces. It's not that she burned a lot of bridges or anything like that, it was more like she didn't want to see certain people from her past. She was tired of thinking about it. It was her senior year, she just had to push her way thru one more year and she was free to do whatever she wanted. She quickly got herself ready and the only thing left to do was to get dressed. Luckily, in her late night attempt to avoid any potential problems today, she had already laid out her clothes. Nothing out of the ordinary, just some old beat up black jeans with a few holes in them, a black shirt with an unbuttoned red flannel on top and her signature black boots. The ideal outfit for not looking like a complete dweeb and still flying under the radar. She walked downstairs, trying to stay quiet enough to sneak out unnoticed. Unfortunately, right as she was about to grab her backpack and bass, she could hear her father clearing his throat from the kitchen.

"Good morning, Marceline. On your way to school already?" He asked, taking a sip from his coffee. He was never the early morning kind of guy and always worked a 9-5 corporate job even before she was born. Clearly the only reason he's awake right now is to make sure she is actually going to school. Typical. She tightened up a little and rubbed the back of her neck as she made an attempt at a half smile. "Yeah, dad. Just trying to put my best for forward and plan for success or whatever you always say…" Not exactly a lie but defiantly not exactly the truth.

He crossed his arm and smiled, he leaned back against the edge of kitchen counter. "Good to hear it baby!" he said enthusiastically. He made his way across the room and gestured towards the refrigerator. "There's not much, but feel free to eat anything in the house. I usually end up getting take out because I'm usually so busy, but there's definitely a meal or two in there." He laughed for a bit and an awkward silence seemed to fill the room. He cleared his throat, "While I can't accompany you, I would like you to go grocery shopping today. I got you this credit card to use as you need since our previous agreement is off the table after your little transfer fiasco. It is only to be used on things you absolutely need like food, clothes or school supplies. It has a $500 limit and you will receive no more than that every month under any circumstances. This is an exercise of responsibility for a new page in our relationship, can I trust you?" he asked in a serious tone while she tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

While she would love to shut him down and leave the house and this conversation as quickly as possible, she could really use that money and at least he wasn't being completely condescending for once. "Yeah dad, won't let you down." she said, making eye contact with the old man. He seemed to look content with her response and headed back to his room. She quickly grabbed her things and headed outside.

* * *

She already looked up online how to get to school using back roads and even where to lock up her bike, just not where she was going to hang out before school started. She wasn't the type to get to school first but considering her home situation, the more time out the better. All she needed was a secluded spot with some shade like a tree or something. As she turned the corner, she could see it. Ooo High, one of the last traditional high schools in all of Ooo. While other schools focused on stuff like the arts or science, this plain old school was nothing out of the ordinary. The only kind of kids who went to this school either had no ambitions of any kind or just couldn't be bothered to go somewhere else farther away. The place looked completely empty except a few cars in the parking lot that she could only imagine belonging to a few of the teachers, but that was no surprise, the sun was barely even out yet. She parked her bike and secured the chain around it, locking it tightly. She made her way down the sidewalk and eventually came to a courtyard. She paused for a moment and scanned the area for an ideal spot to chill and there it was, the perfect local for her plan to be virtually undetectable this year. It might've just been an old rotten tree next to a toxic looking lake, but she liked the atmosphere.

She dropped her backpack and laid down in the grass, using it as an impromptu pillow. Still listening to music from the bike ride over, she removed one headphone so she could listen out for the first bell and closed her eyes. Unable to relax, she unpacked her bass and started to mindlessly play along with the music. Her attempt at a quick rest before class started was denied by the sound of her fellow students' conversations and it was only getting louder. With sleeping no longer being an option, she looked around her and realized that she was now surrounded by people. They wasn't anyone necessarily close to her, but she still felt a little anxious from the sheer amount of people. Luckily, no one had noticed her and she had the perfect opportunity to people watch. Going to so many different schools gave her a good eye for scoping out clicks and potential trouble. Little did she know she would spot trouble itself quickly without much effort. There she was, Bonnibel Bubblegum, the one person Marceline feared coming into contact with the most when she agreed to attend this dumb school. She might have been surrounded by googly eyed boys who seemed to be eating up whatever she was saying, but with that bright pink hair, she stood out like a sore thumb. Bonnibel was Marceline's first real friend. They were so close and she actually trusted her, until she stopped talking to her for no good reason. Long story short, after weeks and multiple attempts to contact her, the only response she ever got from the pink haired girl was a short cold text reading "Sorry, I can't talk to you. I have too much going on right now." Marceline felt like she had moved past all this and even though she didn't ever get a real reason why, she was able to obtain some kind of closure. She had been staring without realizing it and her chest ached a bit as she watched Bubblegum happily laugh. That feeling was almost instantly replaced with a feeling of embarrassment and surprise when the two locked eyes across the courtyard. Bonnibel must have felt the same way because she was completely disengaged from her previous conversation and was staring at the girl like she was a ghost. That wasn't far off from the truth.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I'm surprised anyone took the time to read the first chapter and I am so thankful for the words of encouragement! That being said, I got another one for you guys and hope you like it. There will be much more of PB very soon, just had to get a few character integrated into the story so we could get to the good stuff!

* * *

Marceline was so in her own head and caught up in the moment that she didn't realize that someone was approaching her until she heard a loud thud. She quickly turned to the source of the sound to see a young boy slowly picking himself up off the ground. The pour kid probably tripped over one of the enormous roots at the base of the tree. He was a short guy, most likely a freshman. He didn't look like anything out of the ordinary except for his weird hat that kind of resembled a polar bear, but she choose not to address it for now at least. His knee was bleeding a bit from the fall and was covered in dirt, but he didn't seem phased by the injury and laughed awkwardly as a blush crossed his face. As he started to dust himself off, Marceline decide to break the silence.

"Hey kid, you okay?" she asked in a slightly concerned tone. She didn't particularly care one way or another, but stuff like this was filed under the category of 'what a normal person would do' in her brain. The boy smiled and laughed again, a little more confidently this time. "Yeah, I'm cool. Thanks" he responded. Oh man, was he anything but that, she thought to herself, but she decided to humor him. "That looks pretty gnarly dude, maybe we should get you to the nurse's office or something?" she asked. Barely one minute into the encounter and she was dying to escape already. Human interaction wasn't exactly her area of expertise and she felt extremely uncomfortable trying to carry out normal conversations. She just tried to remind herself it was just for one school year and she just had to tough it out over and over in her head like a mantra. "Glob, you're probably right. I don't want my knee meat to get infected or anything. I'll just get my brother to…" he said as he looked around the courtyard, clearly not seeing whoever it was that he was looking for. He sighed, "He was just over there a minute ago!" he explained. The boy paused for a moment and then looked up at Marceline. "It'd be awesome if you could lend me a hand, this kinda hurts a little more than I let on." he admitted as he started to rub his upper arm and looked down at the ground. Of course she would have to be practically the only soul around to witness all of this and be the only one around to help him. She quickly packed up her things and pocketed her headphones. "Alright kid, lead the way. I've got no idea where anything is but I suppose I could chaperone you." she said with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

* * *

The walk was so uncomfortably silent, the only thing she could focus on was the sound of their footsteps. Usually, the last thing she would want was an awkward polite conversation, but she was craving it compared to this. She didn't even know the kid and here she was not even five minutes later escorting him to see the nurse like he was an elementary schooler. She was so caught up in thought she almost missed what he was saying to her. "…wanted to come say hi. We usually don't get transfers and most of us have known each other since freshman year. So, we pick up pretty quick when somethings out of the ordinary." he continued before Marceline quickly cut him off. "Wait, you're not a freshman?" she asked with a slightly surprised expression. "Heck no! This boy ain't fresh meat anymore! I am officially a sophomore for your information." he stated very matter of the fact. She couldn't help but laugh a bit, "Sorry little man, won't happen again." she said with a smile as she playfully rubbed the top of his head as if he was her younger sibling she couldn't help but tease. He didn't respond but blushed a bit again instead. Marceline was warming up to him and didn't really mind him all that much anymore. He certainly wasn't the coolest kid in school, but he seemed like a nice kid at least and was fun to mess with. She started to think maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a few allies around to help her get thru the school year, until graduation at least.

This time, she decided it would be her turn to break the silence. "So… what do you think happened to this elusive brother of yours?" she asked, trying to show at least a minimal interest. "Oh, Jake? I'm sure he's around somewhere, it's alright. He was actually the one who suggested welcoming you to the school and everything, but he's a really shy guy." he explained. "Ah, I get it. Trying to set a good example for the little bro are we?" she asked with a smile. He couldn't help but laugh, "Nah, nah. Jake's my big brother and anything but shy once he gets to know you. I guess you could say he's not good with first impressions and all that jazz so I help him out you know?" he replied. "That's pretty awesome of you dude, good to know some decent people still exist in this shit hole of a town." she said, trying to be optimistic for once.

The walk suddenly came to an abrupt end as they approached what could only be the door to the nurse's office. He turned to her and began once again, "I really appreciate the help, I owe you one, uhh…." She responded quickly to avoid yet another silence, "It's Marceline and no worries dude, any time." "The names Fin. If you ever need anything, I'd be happy to help." he eagerly responded. The nurse was now staring at them thru the small window on the door, clearly annoyed the two were having a full on conversation in front of the entrance to the clinic. "Well, I should get in there before she lectures me again. I guess you could say I'm a regular here." He said, looking a little embarrassed before he started talking once again. "You should sit with us at lunch!" he happily suggested. "Guess I don't have any other plans. Sure, why not." she responded. Before she had a moment to change her mind or come up with an excuse, the boy lit up. "Sweet! I'll be sure to find you and introduce you to everyone after the assembly. Later Marceline!" he said happily as he entered the room, the door slamming behind him. Everyone? This was already a stretch and an exhausting one at that. What did she just get herself into?

* * *

Apparently, the first day of school was always short here. All they had to do was attend some dumb assembly in the auditorium, go to lunch and make it thru their last class of the day. Maybe it wasn't what she was used to, but she was definitely not going to question it after the eventful morning she had. Blocking out stuff like this was second nature to her and she didn't particularly mind, except for the fact that the teachers were making rounds and closely watching them to ensure no one was on their phone and at least appeared to be paying attention to what the principal had to say. Before she knew it, she was consumed by her thoughts.

Out of all people, why was Bubblegum here? She had always been so obsessed with science and junk, this should be the last school she would be at. You'd think she'd be nerding it up at some fancy science school by now. At this point, all she could do was hope that she didn't have any classes with her and didn't have to speak a single word to her. As hurt feelings from the past started to surface, a curvy girl with pale lavender hair angrily threw her bag down and sat down a few seats down, crossing her arms in a clearly annoyed fashion. Marceline choose to ignore the scene, thinking she already more than fulfilled her charitable responsibility for the day. As a few moments passed, it was becoming incredibly clear that that option was no longer on the table. If she left the girl alone, she would probably create an even bigger scene and more attention was the last think she wanted.

She looked over at the girl out of the corner of her eye, "Alright, I'll bite. What's up?" she asked. This only seemed to set the other girl off, "What's up!? What's up is that I'm being force to attend this stupid lumping thing in the first place!" she exclaimed, drawing the eyes of a few unapproving teachers. "Why do we even have to be here today? It's not like we even have to go to all our classes or anything." she whispered, still keeping an annoyed tone. "It's not so bad, better than getting thrown into the fire on the first day I guess." she replied, trying to sound as sympathetic as she could muster. "Yeah, you're right. You really are nice despite how you come off and all." she admitted. "Wait what? People are already talking about me?" Marceline asked surprised, a little louder than she intended. "Oh yeah, I'm always up to date on the hottest gossip girl. You're the mysterious new transfer student, this is probably going to be the juiciest topic around here for at least a couple of weeks." she said confidently. "…perfect." Marceline replied. "It's Marceline, right? Everyone calls me LSP." she explained and smiled almost as if she was waiting for a reaction, but before Marceline could get a single word out, she spoke again, "Don't act so surprised girlfiend~ Like I said, I know about every little thing that happens around here." She said in a friendly tone, winking at the other girl. "Hmm, makes sense. But the only person I even talked to today was Mertens, just caught me a little off guard I guess." she suggested with a shrug. "Oh yeah, that boy is totally in love with me and junk. I know he can't resist me but I just can't be tied down to one boy when all the guys want a piece of this bod." she said as she retrieved a mirror from her bag and started to touch up her lipstick. Marceline couldn't help but laugh a bit, "You are a riot, LSP." she exclaimed, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye.

Before the conversation could go any further, they were interrupted by the sound of the other students grabbing their things and heading out to lunch. She lost track of time during their little chat and luckily the day was flying by. Right as she was racking her brain for an excuse to leave her new found acquaintance, she heard someone calling out to her across the room. She turned to see Finn eagerly waving her down. "Well, I suppose that's my que to go." she explained. LSP was already absorbed in her phone, probably catching up after being denied it for oh so long. She took a moment to wrap up whatever conversation she had been so immersed in and handed Marceline a piece of paper with what could only be a phone number. "Text me if you ever need dets about anything or anyone in this boring school. Nothing ever happens around here that I don't know about." she stated with an overly confident look before she quickly joined a group of other fashionable girls also glued to their phones.

Marceline started to gather her things once again and made her way over to the boy. He was standing next to a muscular blonde guy, stereotypical jock look. She dreaded taking to those types, but Finn was a nice kid and wouldn't be hanging out with a guy like that unless he was a decent guy. She braced herself as she approached them and took a deep breath before she spoke, "Hey Finn, what's up?" "You ready for lunch? I'm starving!" he replied. "You know it dude, hope we're having sandwiches today." the blonde said, almost ignoring her presence. Finn quickly stepped in and introduced the pair, "Jake, this is Marceline. Marceline, this is my brother Jake I was telling you about." Jake suddenly looked incredibly shy. She never imagined the guy Finn described to her would look like this, but it was definitely a welcome change of pace from the other typical meat heads she came into contact with in the past. Before anyone had a moment to protest, Finn spoke again, "Well, what are we waiting for dudes and lady dudes? Let's go get our grub on!" She looked over at Jake again, but he quickly broke eye contact. She thought it was funny that this beefy dude was intimidated by her. It didn't bother her a bit, it was more typical than any of the other events were so far today. The brothers started making their way out of the auditorium and she followed behind them.

* * *

The group arrived at the cafeteria and Marceline found herself unable to even hear her own thoughts over the sounds of her fellow students' echoing conversations. Fortunately, this wasn't their destination. Finn and Jake led her though the room to a back door of some kind. On the other side was a tree covered grassy area with a few picnic tables. While the outdoors wasn't exactly her favorite place to be in the middle of the day, at least it had some shade and was dead silent compared to inside. She tried to have a positive attitude about it, reminding herself once again that it could be worse. Everyone dropped their backpacks at the table in the far back corner of the yard and sat down. "We usually chill for a bit and wait for the lines to die down a little before we go get food. Cool with you Marceline?" Finn asked. "I'll just probably chill here while you guys go." she said while the pair looked at each other for a moment and then back at her with puzzled expressions. "I'm just really not into school food I guess. It always made me feel a little sick." she explained as Jake quickly spoke directly to her for the first time "Can I have your lunch th …ouch!" His sentence was interrupted by his brother elbowing him in the ribs. "Honestly, dude. Can you think of anything other than food for once?" practically scolding his older brother as if he were his mother. "What can I say? I'm a growing boy." he replied with a smile. "Anyways, well try to be back quick but in case the others beat us back here, we already told them that you'd be here." He could tell that she was feeling a bit nervous hearing that, especially after years of experience with Jake. "Don't worry" he assured her, "They're all super-duper nice just like me and if that doesn't convince you, I told them about what went down this morning and how you helped me out. They're going to like you, trust me." She wasn't as confident about all of this as Finn appeared to be, but she didn't really have a reason not to trust him after how nice he had been to her. "Yeah sure, Mertens. I'll be here." She replied in an unenthusiastic manner. The sophomore flashed a toothy grin and the two practically raced each other in the direction of the source of food.

The place was still practically empty still and with those two gone, she figured it was as good of time as any to play her bass a bit. She unzipped the soft padded case and removed the instrument within as she let out a sigh of relief. No matter what happened in her life, her bass was like her home that doubled as an emotional outlet. Just holding it relieved a bit of the stress from the hectic day she was having so far. She carefully tuned it and retrieved a pick from her pocket and took a deep breath. Right before she could play her first note, a girl with bright flame like hair quickly approached the table. Before she could even process anything, the girl softly smiled at her and spoke "So, you must be the infamous Marceline I've been hearing about?" she raised an eyebrow and laughed before she continued. "Don't look so stiff, I'm just joking around. Finn told us about this morning in our group text. I'm Phoebe, but everyone just calls me FP. Childhood nickname from my dad that I was never able to escape, I've learned to embrace it." She seemed nice enough but Marceline's casual conversational skills were rusty at best. Before she could come up with something to say, the redhead sat down next to her and gave her a curious look. "So, you know how to play that thing? she asked curiously. Before she could even answer, the brothers returned and sat down next to the girls. Jake immediately began gorging himself while Finn chimed in. "Yeah, I was going to ask you about that too before well… you know." Everyone shared a laugh for a moment, "Well, the things way too heavy to be considered a fashion statement." she said sarcastically. "I've been making music since I was a kid, guess you could say it's kinda my go to stress reliever." she suggested. "That's so cool! I wish I could play a rad instrument like that. All I know how to play is the flute, but Jake over here plays a mean violin!" he exclaimed in his normal enthusiastic tone. Jake sighed, "For the thousandth-time dude, it's a viola." He explained. The group shared another laugh and Marceline finally started to relax a bit until yet another person approached the table, interrupting the moment.

At this point, it almost wasn't a surprise that the girl in front of her was none other than Bubblegum. Of course she would have to be around her at some point, she was just hoping it'd be later rather than sooner. Instead of trying to rationalize the situation, she decided that she should just follow the groups positive vibes and try to be polite for now. "Hello Bonnibel~" she said in an attempted friendly manner as she waved at the girl. Bonnibel rolled her eyed, "Hey Marceline." She replied, seemingly annoyed at the other girl's presence. The tension grew as Finn forcefully spit out some of the juice he was drinking. "Wait… you two know each other?" he asked, looking confused. The girls looked at each other for a moment before quickly turning away almost in unison. "Marceline and I are childhood friends." she explained before quickly turning her attention to the source of sarcastic laughter. "Yeah, more accurately, we were." she corrected as she crossed her arms. Out of all the awkward silences today, this one takes the cake. This is pretty much the worst case scenario that could unfold in her new social life. Being more in tune to the situation compared to the boys, FP broke the silence, "Hey Bonnie, you think you could help me out with this chemistry problem? I don't understand bonds at all." She seemed so eager to turn her attention to anything but this conversation that she didn't even think about the fact that there was no way anyone had homework being it was only the first day of the semester and no one had even attended a single class yet. Marceline let out a sigh of relief and Phoebe smiled at her again. I definitely owe that girl one she thought and tried to enjoy the rest of the free time they had left.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: ...i am hella embarrassed you guys. I was a little sleep deprived when I finally got some free time to actually proofreading this chapter and accidentally reuploaded chapter 1. I am so sorry that I didn't see the reviews until now and if you guys still are interested in the story, I will try to get another chapter out quick. I've had everything planned out for this story for a while, I just have been dealing with something unexpected. I hope you understand and again I am really sorry.**

* * *

After an eventful lunch, all Marceline wanted was to get through the rest of the day. Even though her home situation was anything but pleasant, she found herself craving her bed more than anything. The whole day was like a cheesy sitcom episode that's punchlines seemed to revolve around her misfortune. Marceline let out a sigh as she shuffled through the crowded hallways. She made her way to the science wing at a slow pace and retrieved her phone from her pocket for a brief moment. _Okay, 6 minutes til class starts… if I get there with like two minutes to spare, maybe I can quietly slip in unnoticed and secure a spot in the back._ Compared to her usual laid back sense of urgency, this was weird and she hated it. She felt like she had been backed into a corner and practically defenseless. Sure, she was used to shit never going the way she wanted, but this was unreal. As much as she wanted to just say fuck it and skip, she usually made it somewhat of a priority to come to the first day or two to try to convince teachers she cared to some extent even if it was just to gain a little sympathy before showing zero to no respect for the schools rules.

The young girl unfolded her class schedule and searched for the information she required. She scanned the hall for her classroom but was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Marci!" the older man said with a warm smile. "Simon! It's so good to see you!" she replied and instinctively hugged him. "Ditto kiddo." he replied, smiling once again. This is what she needed right now more than anything. He had always supported her and had been a close friend to Marceline as she was growing up and dealing with the world's sick game that seemed to get off from making her life a living hell. He was the father figure she really needed at the time. It felt like some weight was lifted off her shoulders and she let out a sigh of relief this time. She wiped a small tear off her cheek, "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I actually started to teach here last year. I guess you could say I needed a change of pace of sorts." he explained. They looked at each other and burst into laughter. Usually when anyone brought up her school hopping habit she became instantly annoyed, but Simon always been there to listen to her reasons and was compassionate. If anyone had a right to be able to make those kinds of jokes with her, it was him. "When I saw your name on my roster I wanted make sure I could catch up with you one on one. Don't want to embarrass you on your first day, do we?" he asked, looking at her over his round glasses with a smile. The pair laughed once again and Marceline grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him in. She took a deep breath and moved a strand of hair behind her ear, "It would really mean a lot to me if we didn't have to do that super embarrassing new student introduction thing. I know it's totally normal and suppose to help people get to know me or whatever but I really hate the whole situation, you know?" she explained. "Of course, I would never put you through that. Anyways, class is about to begin, we should head in." he suggested as he opened the door. "Thanks Simon"

Marceline wasn't the type to get excited over being in class but she didn't think the outcome was half bad. Life is rough and there was going to be a lot of things she had to learn the hard way. At least school was pretty cut and dry about how everything works and people were a little less ignorant after graduating. She was in the back of the room which was relatively empty, probably because a hand full of the seniors decided to skip. Speaking of skipping, Marceline had almost forgotten to eat anything today but was not so kindly reminded by a growling in her stomach. She reached into her bag and pulled out a few blood red pencils and began to discreetly rob them of their bright color, turning them a pale grey. This was usually more than enough to get her through a school day, but she skipped out on breakfast due to her prior unsuspected awkward encounter. She sank down into her seat and propped her feet up on the table. After finally having something to eat, her thoughts became a little less clouded and she finally relaxed a bit. She glanced around the room only to stop and look over at Bonnibel who was sitting in the front of the class diligently taking notes on the lecture. It bothered her that she was acting like nothing ever happened. It's cool if that's how Bubblegum wanted to handle her problems, but she couldn't force her to resolve her problems by herself again. As much as she'd like to think that maybe things have changed and that it could be different this time around, she remembered how the pink haired girl could be. Stubborn, cruel and far too irrational in the emotions department for someone who always clams to be so focused on data and science. Her thoughts were interrupted by Simon's increasingly interesting lecture. About half way through the class, he started to talk about some scrolls this old dude wrote way back in the day. From what she could gather, this guy was trying to outline how people should act and treat each other. The translation was so boring and hard to understand, but Simon made it seem interesting at least.

"Basically, what he was trying to say here was good people can do bad things because of circumstances like being overly emotional or even simply not understanding the meaning of their actions. While this does not excuse their behavior, we must sympathize with these individuals and not judge their character upon these actions alone. However, Aristotle would consider more things as voluntary than you might think. Let's have someone give us an example that we can analyze and explain how he would most likely feel about the situation from a morality point of view."

Marceline was trying to keep herself awake, she didn't want to be rude to Simon and use his period to catch some sleep. She let out a silent yawn and instinctively stretched out in an effort to wake up a bit but her timing couldn't have been worse. "Oh, Marceline! Do you wish to aid the class and share a story with us?" Simon asked. Her eyes widened for a moment and she looked up at him. "Sure…" she offered with a nervous laugh. She got the gist of the lesson and she worked okay under pressure, but the problem was the pink haired girl looking her way with an annoyed look. At that moment, she knew the perfect story.

"Hmm, alright. So, let's say there's these friends. They both always felt like they were a little bit different from other people but bonded over that and became really close. One day, when one of the friends needed the other the most, she was nowhere to be found. She tried so hard to reach out to the girl but she never answered. Some time passed and eventually the girl explained to her that they couldn't be friends anymore without any good reason and never spoke to her again. Clearly, she was a bad person and terrible friend, right?" Marceline asked, catching her breath after her emotional outburst. After an awkward silence, she scanned the room only to be greeted by stares and surprised looks. "Well…" Simon began to speak but was quickly cut off. "Maybe the friend had a lot of things going on in her life and it would be illogical to involve other people?" Bonnibel questioned in an angry fashion. "Maybe the friend should've explained the situation and asked for help instead of abandoning her when she needed it the most?" Marceline quickly replied, now standing up and firmly gripping the edges of her desk. "Maybe she had problems she could only resolve herself!" the pink hair yelled as the tension in the room grew thicker. "After everything we've been through… I thought you'd at least give me the curtesy of an explanation or a legitimate reason! Sorry you had to be around me and that I'm not perfect like every little thing in your life always has to be!" She yelled back, slamming her hands on the desk. "I never said you had to be perfect!" the pink girl retorted, anger getting the better of her. Tears started to well from Marceline's eyes and she could feel the sharp stares piercing her around the room. She stared deep into the other girl's eyes clenched her fist, "Whatever… Ugh, I'm outa here!" With complete disregard of everything else going on around her, she bee-lined for the door and slammed it behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: bubbline intensifies. Way more interaction between the two and only more to come. For those wondering about a few things after last chapter and this chapter, we will talk about vamp stuff next chapter and hopefully that will clear some things up. Is it a spoiler if it's part of the show and not my story yet? Who knows? Definitely not me, I'm writing this at 3AM ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) plz get the reference or I will look dumb. Anyways, I know I get frustrated when a story takes its sweet time getting to the juicy parts so I really appreciate everyone's patience and support 3 I'm still really busy but everything should get a little better soon I'm hoping. Keeping this story updated is one of my priorities and it will get finished no matter what. Thanks for reading!

* * *

After some alone time, Marceline cooled down a bit. She knew her little stunt would elicit a reaction from Bonnibel, but she didn't expect any of this. As much as she would like to believe that it came from a place of hurt or regret, it was probably her pride getting the best of her. After all, she was always so obsessed with how other people perceived her that she was probably embarrassed that someone was potentially slandering her good name. The final bell rang and within five minutes the area was practically swarming with students just getting out from their classes. She decided she would take this opportunity to slip back into the classroom to grab her things and clear the air with Simon before anyone spots her.

* * *

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she placed her hand on the door knob. Careful not to make any noise, she slowly opened the door and gently shut it behind her. When she turned around, she saw Simon and Bonnibel engaging in a deep conversation, still unaware of her presence. Before she had a moment to process any of it, Simon stood up and made his way over to her. She glanced over at Bubblegum only to have her immediately break their glance with a look of guilt on her face. The professor rested his hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay Maci?" he asked in a concerned tone. "Yeah, I'm fine." she responded and paused for a moment. "Sorry for walking out in the middle of class and everything. The last thing I want to do is cause problems for you and I wasn't thinking." Simon smiled but was interrupted by the alarm going off on his watch. He quickly walked over to his desk and retrieved a large stack of papers before facing her once again. "Apology accepted, it's okay to make mistakes now and again. I hate to cut our conversation short, but I really must get this paperwork to the faculty office before anyone goes home for the day or the principal will have my head. I'll see you tomorrow." he explained before frantically rushing out into the hall.

Marceline made her way over to her desk, trying not to look anywhere near the other girls direction. She felt as if each step she took was as loud as glass breaking, the only thing louder was the sound of her heart pounding in her chest. She quickly shoved all her things into her bag and zipped it closed but practically jumped out of her skin when she heard Bonnibel clearing her throat, clearly trying to get her attention. "Marceline" she said firmly, "I think it's time for us to talk about what happened. We're attending school together now and I think it's in everyone's best interest for us to get along." She stated very manner of the fact. "Typical. Just when I think you might be coming around you go and spout about the greater good and how you don't want to do this. You know, it's my fault for holding onto a hope that everything could just go back to the way it was before. Guess that's why I'm the idiot and you're the super smart straight A student. Save it princess." There was hurt in Marceline's voice as she spoke. Even after saying all that, she truly could not let go of the idea that there was even a small chance for them to be friends again. She had hurt her and she wouldn't forget that, but ever since all of this happened, it's almost as if something was missing from her life. As she was about to dramatically storm out of the same room for the second time today, Bonnibel interjected "Wait!" She made a few steps towards Marceline, trying to close the space between them. There was a clear look of desperation in her eyes and Marceline found herself unable to turn away from her. "That's not what I meant, I…" the pink hair girl spoke softly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Look, I'm not exactly proud of how I handled things in the past, but a lot has changed since then. I'm not asking for you to forgive me, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." A hundred things were going through Marceline's mind but she was at a loss for words. Never in a million years could she picture this scenario, let alone imagine that it actually played out. All those sleepless nights thinking of what she would say to her if she only had the chance and here it was, but she couldn't process it. Her brain was fried and she had to practically force the words out, "I know we were young but that doesn't change the fact that you hurt me and abandoned me for all these years Bonnie." The other girl remained silent and looked down at her feet, trying to conceal her guilt-ridden face. "Honestly, I don't know if I can accept your apology right now. I really want to but I just …it's complicated. For now, I'm willing to swallow my pride and give you a chance to gain back my trust, under one condition." Marceline said with a smirk and crossed her arms. "Which is?" Bonnibel asked nervously with a look of confusion. "Relax. Like you said, a lot has changed and even I've grown up a little bit. All you have to do is let me walk you home, you still live close by right?" she replied in her normal calm and collected voice, but the other girl still appeared to be a little on guard. "Hmm what's the catch?" Bubblegum asked suspiciously. Marceline chuckled and approached her. She pushed her index finger into Bonnibel's chest and brought her face slightly closer so their eyes met. "You have to answer all my questions and with absolute honestly, no exceptions. Think of it sort of as a trial run or something." she explained and went back to her desk to quickly collect her things before returning to face the other girl, "So, do we have a deal?" she asked. It was taking a lot out of her to act like everything was completely fine but she wanted Bonnibel to relax a little bit. She couldn't help but still hold a bit of a grudge about the past, but seeing her look this uncomfortable just taking to her pissed her off more than anything. Trying to stay calm, she looked at Bonnibel softly and smiled. The younger girl blushed slightly and quickly turned around. She put her backpack on and carefully secured each strap, "If that's what it's going to take to put all this behind us then I guess we should get going." she suggested. Marceline walked past her and opened the door. She held it open and gestured her to follow her lead, "After you, Princess" she sarcastically remarked with a wink.

* * *

They made their way through the neighborhood, maintaining a buffer of a couple of feet between them. Most people were at work and the streets were relatively quiet besides from the occasional car and the clicking sound of Marceline's bike as she pulled it alongside them. "Don't look so stressed" Marceline teased, lightly punching the other girls arm. "I promise there wasn't any kind of secret agenda to put you on the spot and interrogate you, there's just a lot of questions I didn't have answers to all this time. There's stuff I wanna know, ya know?" She spoke in a serious tone and had a look of desperation in her eyes. "There was a lot that was left unspoken, I get it" she replied in a sympathetic tone. Bonnibel had a habit of being overly defensive but she could tell that Marceline really needed this, it was written all over her face. Even if Marceline didn't forgive her, she felt like she owed her this at least.

"Let's start easy, how's my favorite lab assistant doing?" Marceline asked. "Who, Science? She's good, still as curious as ever and never seizes to amaze me with her intelligence. Recently, she's been escaping from her cage in the middle of the night to sneak some food. I don't even know how long it's been going on because she figured out how to close the cage door behind her." Bonnibel explained and the two shared a laugh. A brief silence came over them, but it wasn't awkward or unpleasant. The pair had been separated for so long and it was nice for them to just enjoy the others company for a moment after all they have been through.

"Soo I've been wondering this all day but I can't think of any reason. Why are you going to Ooo high anyways?" Marceline curiously asked. "It was convenient, it just made sense." Bonnibel replied nonchalantly. "No, no. I mean I always pictured you would be in some private school for big brains or like in college already. Why this trashy school with like the worst graduation rate for miles?" she asked, slightly skeptical of her old friend's response. "I mean sure there's still plenty I still have yet to discover about science, but there's even more I don't know about things that I should. Chemistry, math, school, it makes sense to me. Everything happens for a reason and can be explained, but that's not always the case when it comes to things like being a good person or understanding other people's feelings and that's what worries me. I just decided it was time for me to work on myself instead of problems and equations." she explained.

"Is that why you stopped talking to me?" she asked, looking over at the other girl. "No, I… my family came back." she answered, meting Marceline's eyes. "Oh Bonnie, I'm so sorry" she replied, wanting nothing more than to comfort her despite the previous state of their relationship. "Everything is fine now, my uncle and the rest of them are long gone and I don't think I'll be seeing them anytime soon" she paused for a moment, "Back then, everything was so hard for me to process. I was worried about my life changing and I wasn't prepared for it. In all of that, I pushed you away when I needed you most and I realize that now, I have for a while now actually. I know you still need time to think about all of this, but I want you to know I'm so sorry for what I did to you." she confessed as tears started to well in her eyes. Marceline stopped walking and her bike dropped in the middle of the street. She walked over to her and gently put her hands on her shoulders. Bonnibel wiped the tears out of her eyes and looked up at her. "Don't cry Bon, like you said, things are different now. We're different. It's hard not to dwell in the past, trust me I know, but let's just focus on our new relationship instead of beating ourselves up for things that happened when we were kids." she offered, giving the younger girl a soft smile. Bonnibel removed one of Marceline's hands from her shoulder and gently held it in hers, "I know, thanks Marci. I'm really glad were here now." Marceline's cheeks became tinted a light shade of red and a strange feeling in her stomach consumed her thoughts. "Yeah, me too" she replied, pulling away from the other girl. She quickly propped her bike back up and they continued to walk. She assumed the source of her stomach ache was just nerves, but the weird feeling was becoming increasingly painful and she tightly gripped her handlebars for support. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the ringing of Bonnibel's phone. She quickly pulled out her phone from her bag, "Sorry, I have to answer this." Marceline felt a wave of pain come over her and fought back a groan, "No worries, take your time." Bonnibel answered her phone in her usual chipper voice, but her words slowly began to drift away. Marceline was sweating profusely and the sun definitely wasn't helping her situation. Desperately trying to fight it, she just focused on her breathing, occasionally stumbling and using her bike as support. Suddenly, her body felt heavy and her legs were getting weaker with each second. There was a ringing and everything went black. The only thing she could hear was the sound of Bonnibel calling to her from a distance.


End file.
